Vintages - scmwine/Wineries GitHub Wiki

Vintage Information

Since the main wine critics tend to gloss over the Santa Cruz Mountains / Santa Clara Valley area and rate Northern California as a whole, there isn't really any definitive guide to the region. This is a rough guide to past vintages based on reports from various sources.

Notes on Current Releases

Santa Cruz Mountains wineries tend to release their wines much later than the rest of California; it's not unusual for releases to occur 5 years or more after the vintage. This can make it difficult to get an accurate view of the wines early on and thus the information here has a greater emphasis on vintage conditions and growers' notes than actual tastings.

Rating System

Personally I'm not that keen on the 100 point tables, especially given that anything below 80 isn't worth drinking. I've rated the vintages as:

  • Excellent - Outstanding vintage
  • Very Good - High quality vintage
  • Good - Solid vintage
  • Caution - Mixed results, shop wisely and taste first
  • Avoid - Poor vintage

Sections

This guide is divided into two sections:

Acreage by County (2024 data)

The most significant plantings from the NASS website:

Grape Santa Clara Santa Cruz San Mateo San Benito
White Grapes
Chardonnay 248 147 38 576
Gewurztraminer 60 0 0 0
All Whites 702 331 79 1,689
Red Grapes
Cabernet Franc 44 1 0 19
Cabernet Sauvignon 368 12 6 375
Merlot 118 15 1 188
Pinot Noir 278 269 73 660
Syrah 74 22 3 21
Zinfandel 77 9 3 55
All Reds 2,224 682 173 2,965

Data as of 2024. Source: USDA NASS California Grape Acreage Report.

Bordeaux Grapes

The main grapes planted are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Very little of the white Bordeaux grapes (Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc) are planted.

The western side of the mountains faces the Pacific Ocean and is cooler. It's always been difficult to get Cabernet grapes to ripen completely on that side, but when they do the results can be excellent.

The eastern side faces the Bay and is warmer. Most of the great Cabernet vineyards are located on the eastern side: Bates Ranch, Monte Bello, Mount Eden, La Questa, etc.

Recent Vintages (2000-2009)

Year Rating Notes
2009 Excellent High quality and quantity. Long, cool growing season. Slightly above average year. Late October storms after most grapes harvested. Economic downturn caused glut of bargain wines.
2008 Very Good / Caution Drought year, very low yields (less than half expected). Good concentration. Wildfires and extreme weather. Wine Spectator gave Central Coast B- (lowest grade).
2007 Excellent Drought year (lowest rainfall in 16 years). Cool conditions around harvest. Long harvest. Acidity/alcohol closer to Bordeaux than California. Fruit very pure, tannins ripe and smooth. Best in at least 10 years.
2006 Good Very wet year (93 inches rainfall). Hot summer followed by moderate harvest conditions. Early-drinking vintage.
2005 Very Good / Caution Cold, wet start, late growing season. Ideal fall conditions. Good for careful growers, problematic for others.
2004 Caution Dry year. Low set (2/3 normal). Cool summer. Heat spike in September. October rains. Challenging year. Some very good wines from lower elevations.
2003 Good Cold, wet spring, late season. Variable conditions. Small crop, estate wines did best. Some rot reported.
2002 Excellent Balanced growing season. Fully ripened flavors, intense color, extractable tannins. Similar to 1996, will take years to develop. Some wines shutting down as of 2009.
2001 Very Good Moderate season with brief heat spikes. Early harvest. Low Cabernet yields. Ridge Monte Bello had unusually high Merlot percentage and 14.2% alcohol.
2000 Good Late season cool weather and rains. Cool but unhurried end to season (better than Napa).

1990s Vintages

Year Rating Notes
1999 Caution Wet spring (108 consecutive days of precipitation). Late start, very late harvest (Ridge started Oct 30). Eastern side produced best wines.
1998 Avoid Strong El Niño year (86 inches rainfall). Late fruit set, cool summer. Ridge deployed reflective foil. Worse than Napa - many wines taste green and harsh.
1997 Excellent Dream vintage. Large crop, lovely flavors. One of the ripest vintages in years, earlier harvest than usual.
1996 Excellent Best of the 90s in Santa Cruz Mountains. Small crop, perfect season. Backwards, intense, age-worthy wines. Need 10-15 years, hold for 20 more.
1995 Very Good Heavy rains, late set. Late October harvest. Big, ripe wines with massive but ripe tannins.
1994 Very Good Cool spring, late set. Dry year (32 inches). Near-perfect growing season. Late harvest. Intense tannic wines needing many years.
1990 Excellent Great vintage worldwide.

1980s Vintages

Year Rating Notes
1989 Caution Second of two leaner years. Ridge fared well.
1988 Caution First of two leaner years. Good structure.
1987 Very Good Ripe.
1986 Very Good Similar to 1984.
1985 Good Generally tannic, needing cellaring.
1984 Good Very good overall structure.
1983 Avoid Third weak year in a row. Monte Bello declassified.
1982 Avoid Second of three weak years.
1981 Avoid Start of a bad run.
1980 Good Ripe. Some very good wines.

1970s Vintages

Year Rating Notes
1979 Good / Caution Under-rated vintage with very good structure. Monte Bello declassified.
1978 Excellent Very ripe, close in quality to 1974.
1977 Very Good Drought year, similar to 1976.
1976 Very Good Drought year. Many quality wines.
1975 Very Good Similar to 1973 but better.
1974 Excellent Ripe - a great vintage. Best of the decade.
1973 Good Good structure, overshadowed by 1974.
1972 Avoid Late rain diluted many wines.
1971 Caution Problematic - a difficult vintage.
1970 Excellent

1960s Vintages

Year Rating Notes
1969 Overshadowed by 1968 and 1970.
1968 Excellent Gemello still showing well 35+ years later.
1966 Avoid Monte Bello declassified.

Burgundy Grapes

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are by far the most planted grapes on the west side of the mountains in Santa Cruz County. The cool weather suits these grapes very well. 25 acres of Pinot Noir were planted in 2005 alone.

Recent Vintages (2000-2009)

Year Rating - Pinot Rating - Chardonnay Notes
2009 Excellent Excellent Several producers reported shatter. Early ripening grapes picked before storms.
2008 Very Good Very Good Uneven vintage. Protracted flowering, uneven maturity. Very low yields (30-50% of expectations). Big, concentrated, tannic wines. Great from top producers.
2007 Excellent Excellent Best ever for CA Pinot. Dry conditions = concentrated wines. Cool fall = freshness and precision. Low alcohol, excellent balance, structure to age.
2006 Good Good Easier vintage than 2005. Balanced rather than concentrated. Whites fared better than reds statewide.
2005 Excellent Excellent Tough vintage but excellent results. Ridge SCM Chardonnay #2 in Wine Spectator Top 100 for 2007. Varner Chardonnays highly praised. Some crops wiped out.
2004 Good / Caution Very Good Wonderful Chardonnays (Varner, Mount Eden). Pinot Noir didn't fare as well.
2003 Caution Caution Some growers reported rot.
2002 Excellent Excellent
2001 Very Good Very Good Warm vintage. Riper Chardonnays will mature sooner. Reds should repay ageing.
2000 Good Excellent Good fruit and complexity in reds. Whites excellent, age-worthy and pure.

1990s Vintages

Year Rating - Pinot Rating - Chardonnay Notes
1999 Good Good Structured whites that will repay cellaring.
1998 Caution Caution Very late harvest (Chardonnay end of October). Better than Bordeaux grapes but not greatly.
1997 Very Good Very Good Good typicity, complex, many spicy.
1996 Very Good Very Good Early bloom and set, early harvest. Concentrated wines with mineral intensity.
1995 Excellent Excellent Late, cool spring resulted in late harvest. Intense age-worthy whites. Ripe, rich and typical.

Information Sources

If you have comments or opinions on the accuracy of the charts, please email [email protected]